Glitchy connections and busy signals: Amid firehose of Trump news, Mass. Congressional delegation's phones are jammed.
De Ruiter was one of hundreds of concerned constituents who, upset by President Trump's seemingly endless parade of executive orders and Elon Musk's and his
De Ruiter said she was so incensed by the threats Musk poses to national security
that she picked up the phone instead of sending an email — a first for the German national and US citizen who moved to the US for her job seven years ago.
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'We're seeing the dismantling of our democratic institutions before our eyes, in rapid time,' she said. ' I want the people who represent us to make sure they stop this.'
Gloucester resident Weber Torres felt similarly when he picked up the phone to call Markey and Warren's offices on Monday about 'all the craziness that's going on in Washington, DC.' But when the call finally went through, the phone trees directing people how to leave a message were 'unintelligible'
'It sounded like an electronic voice that is sporadically cutting out,' Torres said, adding that he also tried calling from his wife's phone. He tried to leave voicemails for both offices, but wasn't sure whether they went through.
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Torres, who had never called his senators before, ended up leaving a written message for both offices through a form on each senator's website.
Torres was, however, able to reach his representative in the House, Seth Moulton, successfully.
Several members of the Massachusetts delegation confirmed to the Globe that their offices have been inundated with calls in recent days.
A spokesperson for Representative Ayanna Pressley of Boston said her office has fielded calls from constituents who are 'rightfully terrified by the unprecedented Musk-Trump assault on our democracy and what it means for their families.'
Her staff has been taking live calls, logging voicemails, and calling people back, the spokesperson, Ricardo Sánchez, said.
A spokesperson for Representative Richard Neal's office, said all three of his offices — in DC, Springfield, and Pittsfield — have seen 'a significant uptick in calls,' particularly about Musk's access to personal tax information. Neal represents the western part of the state, including the cities of Springfield, Chicopee, Pittsfield, Westfield, and Holyoke.
Jack Chamberland, the spokesperson, said at least 75 percent of daily calls from constituents the past few days have been people voicing concerns about the new administration.
A spokesperson for Representative Jake Auchincloss, who represents the southern part of the state to the Rhode Island border, said one of his district offices experienced 'brief technical difficulties on Monday' and that his DC and district offices in Newton and Attleboro are receiving an 'increased volume of callers.'
A spokesperson for Representative Jim McGovern, whose district encompasses much of Franklin, Hampshire, and Worcester counties,
said while there haven't been technical issues with the phone lines, the office's call volume has been 'exceptionally high with outrage over Donald Trump's actions.'
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Sydney Simon, a spokesperson for Moulton, said his two offices in DC and Salem collectively answered 700 calls on Tuesday alone, most of which were about Trump and Musk.
It's not just Massachusetts.
In Maine, the office of Representative Chellie Pingree, a Democrat,
Pingree's colleague, Representative Jared Golden, also a Democrat whose district covers the state's vast Second Congressional District, expressed a similar sentiment about Musk.
'My constituents and a majority of this country put Trump in the White House, not this unelected, weirdo billionaire,' he told the Press Herald.
Samantha J. Gross can be reached at
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